Saturday, May 31, 2008

This is a post for Susan over at Food Blogga and her Beautiful Bones event. The purpose is to raise awareness about osteoporosis as May is National Osteoporosis Month, so she asked for calcium rich recipes. I really love Susan’s recipes, and the fact that she is a native Rhode Islander is near and dear to my heart.

I chose to do a French bread pizza for a couple of reasons. It’s incredibly versatile, but this also means that it is easy to make with calcium-full ingredients and on top of that it is delicious. Plus I saw Rachel Ray make a version of French bread pizza which was gross sounding and a not-even-hot mess; I’ve been making this for years, and mine is much better if I do say so myself. Not to mention it’s mild and delicious enough to serve to kids, if they are okay with the veggies.

1. Scoop out the excess bread from the baguette, discard, feed to the birds or yourself, or save it for breadcrumbs if you’re feeling industrious. Toast the halves in a 250°F oven until just toasted. You don’t want them to get darker, just drier. Time will vary depending on the kind of bread you’re using, as all baguettes are not created equal.2. Mix together the herbs, vegetables (minus the shallots and garlic), and half the parmigiano.3. Sauté the shallots in oil with the salt until golden in color. Grate in the garlic and cook for another minute, and add to the vegetable mixture.4. Slice off enough thin slices of mozzarella to cover the length of the bread & mixture and put that aside. You want at least ¼-½ cup of mozzarella to dice and mix in with the filling, so dice and mix, add more or less to taste.5. Assemble your pizza: pack the filling into the baguette, tamping down as needed. When it is filled, top with the mozzarella and sprinkle with the reserved parmigiano.6. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet (easy clean-up) into a 350°F oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese is just beginning to turn golden brown.7. Cut in half, sprinkle with salt and pepper, crushed red pepper flakes or just leave them plain. These are delicious just as they are!

Alternate shots:

Filling, pre-pizza:

I did a more visual recipe outline, and I thought it was funny so I’m sharing it:

This is my first recipe post and my first event participation. I hope if you’re checking this out that you enjoyed. :)